SEMEN pH;

PATIENTS ATTENDING INFERTILITY CLINIC AT MUHIMBILI NATIONAL HOSPITAL, TANZANIA

Abstract

Background: Male infertility is a frequent reproductive health problem in the world. It is usually related to abnormal sperm
production or function and these abnormalities can occur anywhere in the production of sperm including hormonal regulation, storage and
transport of sperm. Various factors are known to be responsible for seminal fluid abnormalities. Usually the first step in evaluating for male
infertility is semen analysis. Setting: The study was conducted at Muhimbili National Hospital mainly in the department of Pathology laboratory,
cytology unit. Study design: The study was a hospital based cross-sectional type. Objective: To determine semen pH in patients presenting with
infertility complains and relate how pH of seminal fluid and other semen parameters influence each other. Material and methods: Before
semen collection, patients were instructed to abstain from sexual intercourse for a minimum of 48 hours to 7 days and collect semen by
masturbation and transport it to the laboratory through shirt pocket. Semen was to reach the laboratory for examination in not more than one
hour from time of collection. Semen was examined macroscopically for volume, colour, viscosity and pH by using a pH meter (Consort C830)
followed by microscopic examination which included motility of spermatozoa and sperm count by using Neuber counting chamber. The smear
was made on glass slides, fixed in 95% ethyl alcohol for 30 minutes then stained by using Papanicolaou’s staining technique and then analyzed
microscopically for morphological examination. Results: In the analysis of the influence of semen parameters on semen pH, there was
decrease in seminal fluid pH with age whereby as age increased the pH of seminal fluid decreased.. The general trend observed was that the
pH of seminal fluid tended to decrease with an increase in the days of abstinence. pH tended to decrease with an increase of seminal fluid
volume. The pH of seminal fluid also increased with an increase in viscosity (Hyperviscosity >Hypoviscosity). The pH of seminal fluid in patients
with less than 50% forward progressive movement of spermatozoa was higher when compared to those with more than 50% forward
progressive movement. pH had an influence on the motility of spermatozoa. Conclusions and recommendation: pH and other parameters
tended to have an influence each other during seminal analysis in our study. There is a variation of pH in different parts of the World according to
the studies done. It is recommended that pH should be included during seminal analysis because our study has shown that it affects most of the
seminal fluid parameters in and contribute to the problem of infertility.